Elpaaliah, Demon of Hard Work

By Cameron McCurry

Attunements: Habbalah of Death, Zombi, Knight of the Dead, Captain of
the Infernal Legion, Demon of Hard Work

Rites:

Get someone to work overtime for two days in a row: +1 Essence. +2 if it causes them to miss an important family event.

Cause someone's death by overwork (+3)

Demon of Hard Work: At a glance, Elpaaliah can force someone to work
longer hours at their work by causing them to feel that their job is the
most important thing in their lives. This is rolled as per the
Habbalite resonance.

If idle hands are the devil's tools, Elpaaliah is the foreman that
directs them. She is a Hellborn Habbalah that came into existence
during the Industrial Revolution. Within her first few years, she saw
people dying at work, neglecting their families and caring for little
else. To her deranged logic, these were the kinds of people that were
ideal for Heaven. She would encourage people to work longer hours on
projects, make managers "see" how important it was to keep things
running. After all, Sloth was one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Let other
angels concern themselves with the other six, she would make sure that
souls didn't falter because they were too lazy.

By 1910, she was awarded the Word of Hard Work. It was said that
she barely noticed the honor because she was in the middle of three
projects at the time.

The rise of unions and "worker's rights" campaigns (the phrase still
causes her to spit in disgust) as well as cases of karoshi (death by
overwork) in Japan persuaded her that a change in tactics was in order.
For a Habbalah, she can be quite perceptive and adaptable.

Over the past few years she has coordinated her efforts with demons
of Gluttony (happy hour and buffets for the perfect break), Media
(karaoke bars) and... *shudder* Lust (Andraelphus has Soldiers that pose as
secretaries who can... persuade people to stay at work longer). It
grates on her nerves that people take breaks to enjoy these pleasures,
but they do go back to work later that evening. She reluctantly sees
that in the long run, people will not fall to laziness. And when these
people die, they can be reborn as Zombies to handle menial tasks without
stopping.

The dot com disasters have been an incredible boon for Elpaaliah and
her Word. With companies laying off employees, she has a crop of people
that don't mind working any kind of job no matter what the hours.
Things have been improving steadily for her these last few months.

Elpaaliah has operated below Heaven's radar for a long time. She
thinks that the other angels leave her alone because they recognize her
effort. In truth, most of Heaven thought that people were dying from
overwork that had no Infernal connection. Over the past year, she has
gained the notice of two different entities.

The Archangel of Trade was only recently made aware of her
activities. No one is quite sure what he is planning, but there are
three Malakim that were in an hour long meeting regarding her where the
phrase "Any means necessary" was overheard.

But a more immediate threat to her is in the form of Maguel, the
Angel of Relaxation. He rescued a young woman that had fallen under the
Punisher's sway by taking her on a two week vacation and helping her
find new work Although he appreciates a good work ethic, Maguel is
dedicating a lot of time and effort to soul kill Elpaaliah in the most
painful method possible.